1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to networks, and more particularly to testing the integrity of communication links.
2. Background of the Invention
In order to test the viability of a communications link in networks, transmitters on the link often contain test pattern generators and receivers on the link often contain test pattern checkers. Each node on a link may also contain a transmitter/receiver pair for bi-directional communications. In this case, the node is generally capable of operating in a loopback mode where the transmitter output is connected to the receiver input. The integrity of the node can be tested in the loopback mode with a transmitter test pattern generator and a receiver test pattern checker.
Conventional test pattern generators and checkers use a pseudo-random pattern, selected to simply verify that a data path is viable and that the received pattern exactly matches the transmitted pattern. A transmitter may also generate a pattern that is unrecognized by the receiver in order to test the checker itself.
Conventional test pattern generators have drawbacks because they are very generic and do not have encoding or protocol details. Hence, these test pattern generators may not be able to induce protocol specific errors.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system to efficiently test a communication link, rather than rely on standard test pattern generators.